Fiber optics is a relatively new technology, but is increasingly replacing hard wire electrical cable, especially for communications applications. In the telephone industry, a trunk cable comes into a central office and is connected to a number of distribution cables which lead to user installations. Distribution panels provide a way to permanently connect the fibers from a trunk line to one end of a connector. Fibers from the distribution cables are then connected to the other end of the connector. It is important, however, because of the large number of fibers being connected that there is a method for organizing the connections and the cables.
Panels for use in organizing the distribution of fibers from a trunk line to distribution lines are known. In known panels, however, the splice from a fiber in the trunk cables to a fiber in a pigtail cable is made at a different subassembly from the connection of a pigtail fiber to the fiber of a distribution cable. Also, known panels do not have a planned design for storing excessive lengths of fiber. Consequently, known panels are plagued with a "rat's nest" of excess fiber and cable. The present distribution apparatus eliminates such problem and provides a number of other novel features.